In sports, the emotional highs and lows always seem to run very close together. Thursday’s Falls High Broncos baseball game in Marble against the Greenway Raiders proved just that.
The Broncos and Raiders played seven scoreless innings in a pitchers duel setting up extra innings.
Willie Corrin hit a bunt single with one down in the top of the eighth inning for the Broncos.
With the speedy Corrin on first base, Jacob Casareto hit a ground ball to the Raiders shortstop who made a fielding error putting runners on first and second for Kyle Potter.
Potter laced a single in center field to score Corrin and give the Broncos the lead 1-0, energizing the bench.
The Broncos stranded Potter and Casareto on base and went into the bottom of the eighth with the first lead of the ballgame.
A lead that would be short lived as the Raiders took advantage of a fielding error and two straight hits for the come from behind 2-1 extra innings victory.
Dan Eldien went the distance for the Broncos giving up five hits, walking one and striking out four.
“Danny threw a good ballgame,” Heinlen said. “Any time you can throw eight innings in high school, you’ve thrown a good ballgame, you throw a 2-1 ballgame, you’ve thrown a great ballgame.”
The Broncos defense backed Eldien up in the field with Jordan Christianson saving a double in the sixth inning with a diving catch and Adam Potter digging out two tough hits on the third base line and making the throws to first base for the outs.
“Adam has come up big for us three games in a row,” Heinlen said. “He has great reflexes and a great arm and he does a great job. I have a real tough time with this team, the problem is I have 13 kids that could be on the field every single play. That is really tough for a coach because you have to decide who to put where and when.”
Two days after scoring 14 runs on 18 hits, the Broncos bats went cold, getting only five hits through eight innings and scoring one run.
“When you don’t have a bat day, the little mistakes in the field cost you and they cost you dearly and that is what happened,” Heinlen said.
The team will be on the road this weekend as they travel to St. Cloud for the John Deyak Tournament. The tournament consists mainly of AAA schools and will be played at Dick Putz Field, the site of the 2008 Minnesota State High School League Class AA Baseball Tournament in June.
“It’s a great trip for us, it’s a big bonding trip,” Heinlen said. “It’s good solid baseball.”